Disposable liner for a container



June 6, 1961 R. s. FLETCHER 2,987,216

DISPOSABLE LINER FOR A CONTAINER Filed July 10, 1959 FIG! 5/ ROBERT S. FLETCHER flbow #144,

ATTORN EYS United States Patent 2,987,216 DISPOSABLE LINER FOR A CONTAINER Robert S. Fletcher, 206 Doyle Ave., Providence 6, RJ. Filed July 10, 1959, Ser. No. 826,326 4 Claims. (Cl. 220-39) This invention relates to utilization of a disposable liner for a container and a structure for adapting such a liner to existing containers or new containers.

Containers of various sorts are used throughout industry and one of the standards which has become widely used is the 55 gallon drum. While this invention is not necessarily limited to use with a 55 gallon drum, the disclosure will however be primarily directed thereto for illustrative purposes. In using these 55 gallon drums or other containers, it has been found that many times they may be reused over and over again as they are really a capital item and not a disposable or expendable item. Accordingly, it has become the practice in the industry to clean these drums after they have been used so that they will then be ready to accept any new material or even the same material and not contaminate this material. To accomplish this result, it will be appreciated that a large inventory of containers is necessary for there is a problem of storing the containers with the filled liquid, having other containers which perhaps are in transit either in an empty condition or with a new liquid, and a third set of containers which are at the cleaning plant. It will further be appreciated that this number of containers involves a tremendous amount of handling and a consequent use of valuable storage and/or loading dock space, which could be put to other uses.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to reduce the number of containers which must be kept on hand at any one time and to simplify the handling thereof by providing a means for using a disposable inner liner in conjunction with a standard container.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a special insert for the opening in a barrel or drum which insert will carry with it means for locking a liner to the barrel or drum.

A further object of the invention is to utilize an inner liner in the form of a bag with a neck portion which neck portion will be used to hold the bag in position within the opening.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the standard drumtype container;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective View of a liner member;

FIGURE 2A is a perspective view of an alternate liner member;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded sectional view taken taken diammetrically through the opening in the container, showing the cap, the new insert and holding means with the liner in position;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary View of an alternate form of opening which has been originally made in the container to accept the disposable liner;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the split ring which is used to hold the liner in position;

FIGURE 6 is a top view of the assembly of FIGURE 3 showing the cap screwed into position.

In proceeding with this invention, I first forge or otherwise -form a ring-shaped threaded member which carries a radially inner lip forming a radially inner groove. This member is formed with a flange for the purpose of screwing it into position and has associated therewith a split Patented June 6, 1961 ring which is received in the radially inner groove. There is also provided a flexible liner having a reduced neck portion, the flexible liner being made out of a material which is capable of either being stretched to a considerable degree or folded into such a way as to expand and still retain great tensile strength and freedom from rupture. This liner is then utilized in conjunction with the ring member and the split ring, the liner being forced in through the ring member and secured in place at the neck portion thereof by the split ring whereupon excess neck material of the liner may be cut off so that the ring member may receive a suitable sealing cap.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG URES 2 and 2A liners 10 and 10' which are elastic and flexible respectively. Both liners are provided with a neck portion 11, the entire structure being adapted to be passed into the container such as a drum 12 through the opening of one wall thereof, such as the opening 13. It is intended that existing containers may be modified so as to accept the liner and to this end, I have provided a threaded ring member insert generally designated 14 (FIG. 3) which consists of an internally and externally threaded ring 15 with a flange end 16. The external threads on the ring are cut so that they will mate with the existing threads in the boss 17 that is present in connection with the container opening. The internal threads on the other hand are merely cut so that they will mate with a cap 18 which is furnished for use with the device. The lower end of the ring member remote from the flange 16 is provided with a lip 19 which forms a channel 20 for the reception of the neck 11 of the liner. To this end, a split ring fastener 21 (FIG. 5) may be provided which will securely hold the neck of the liner in position.

Accordingly, in using this invention, it would first be necessary to insert the part 14 into the existing opening within the container and place a gasket such as 22 between the flange 16 and the upper portion of the boss 17. Through the use of a spanner wrench which could engage apertures 23 within the flange 16, the fitting may be tightened in the opening. At this point the liner 10 may be forced through the ring member and neck 11 fitted around into the groove 20 and securely held as shown in the drawing by the split ring 21. After the neck 11 of the liner is seated a knife may be used to cut oil the excess material so that a sealing cap such as 18 may be utilized. The sealing cap 18 is of usual construction and is provided with a depressed portion such as 25 into which two lugs 26 are formed so that a simple tool such as a wrench may be used to tighten the plug into position. Also the plug 18 is provided with overhanging flange portion such as 27 under which a gasket such as 28 may be received for providing a liquid-tight seal.

When it becomes necessary to fill the container, the pressure of the liquid being forced into the container will be suflicient to expand the liner 10 so that the liner 10 completely contacts the walls thereof forming little or no void areas. To accomplish this result, it is of course necessary that the liner be made out of a suitable material, of which there are several new on the market, that will exhibit the necessary properties of remaining intact and yet permit considerable elasticity or flexibility. It will be realized that once the contents are poured out of the container, the liner will resume its original shape to a substantial extent, and in this condition it may be readily withdrawn from the container.

It is of course envisioned that it will not be necessary to utilize an insert piece to hold the removable liner in place, and to this end, the permanent ring member shown in FIGURE 4 comprises an internally threaded ring which is provided with an inner lip structure 19' providing a groove 20'. As in the previous embodiment the groove 3 20' receives a split ring 21' The permanent ring structure, however, differs in some other features in that it hasran external flange 30 that is adapted to be rolled over the edge of the barrel material, and in order to hold the barrel material'in place, together with a gasketing such as 31, an external collar 32 is provided. It will be apparent, therefore, that there is disclosed herein a means for retaining an expandable liner in place within a container such as a drum or the like, which construction facilitates the easy removal of the liner and replacement thereof.

I claim:

I 1. In combination with a container having a wall with an opening therethrough for communication with the interior thereof, a ring member received in the opening and secured to the wall at the periphery thereof, said ring member having a radially inwardly extending lip portion at its inner end with an upwardly opening annular groove, a resilient liner adapted for removable insertion in said container, said liner having a neck section integral therewith and projecting through the ring member, an expansion ring inserted within the neck section expanding the same and fastening the neck into the said annular groove, and a cap for closing the ring member and sealing means between the cap'and ring member and contacting the outer end of the ring member for sealing the same independently of said liner.

- 2. A structure as in claim 1 wherein said ring member is internally and externally threaded and wherein the opening in the wall of said container is provided with an interiorly threaded boss for receiving said'ring member.

3. In combination with a container having a wall with that holds the liner in place.

2,987,216 v p r a, q

4 ,7 an opening therethrough for communication with the interior thereof, an interiorly threaded ring member received in the opening and secured to the wall at the periphery thereof, said ring member having a flange at its outer end thereof and a radially inwardly extending lip at the inner end thereof, said lip forming an annular upwardly opening groove, a resilient liner adapted for removable insertion in said container, said liner having a neck section integral therewith and projecting through the ring member, an expansion ring inserted within the neck section expanding the same and fastening into the said annular groove and an externally threaded cap received within said ring member to close the opening therethrough and sealing means between the cap and said flange for sealing the same independently of said liner.

4. A structure as in claim 2 wherein said ring member has 'exteriorly exposed gripping means and said closing means comprises a cap having exteriorly exposed gripping means whereby said gripping means may both be engaged for relative rotation with reference to .each other while holding the ring member relative to the opening in the wall of the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,540,554 Grifiiths June 2, 1925 2,652,172 Negola Sept. 15, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 648,863 Great Britain Jan. 17, 1951 662,970 France Mar. 29, 1929 869,910 Germany Mar. 9, 1953 

